Stamp-affixing device.



1%. 905,887. PATENTED NOV. 28,1905.

- L. 'E. SMITH.

STAMP AFFIXING DEVICE. APPLIOATION rum) sum: 10, 1905.

a I I r UNITED STATES j PATENT oFrIoE; I

STAMP-AFFIXING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

\ Patented Nov. 28, 1905.

Application filed June 10, 1905. Serial No. 264,694.

To all whom/it. may concern:

Be it knownthat I, LUTHER E. SMITH, aciti-v zen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Shelburne Falls, in the county of Franklinand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Stamp-Affixing Devices, of whichthe following is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention consists in a device for moistening and aflixing stampsor .gummed labels to letters or other articles, which includes a base orsupport for a pile of stamps,- a moistening-pad on said base, a leverhaving a swivel engagement with the base for a horizontal swingingmovement relatively thereto and also jointed for vertical swingingmotions,

a depending head carried by said lever and having a downwardly-openingaperture therein, and a collapsible bulb or other form of pneumaticcarried by said lever and having a chamber therein in communication withsaid downwardly-opening aperture in said head,

' whereby by placing a letter in proper position on said base, swingingthe lever over the pile of stamps after having collapsed the prionmatic,and allowing the pneumatic to exert a suction action on the uppermostone of the pile of stamps, such stamp may be carried from the pile whileheld against the under side of said depending head by the suction actionexerted therethrough by the bulb and forced against the moistening-padto be moistened thereby and then further carried and forced against theletter to be stamped,a slight pressure on the bulb at this final stageof the operation terminating the suction action exerted between thebulb. and stamp, leaving the latter in its aflixed position on theletter.

Theinvention,furthermore,includes as preferable provisions anangulargage for retaining thepile of stamps in properrposition on thebase, a gage against which the letters may be successively brought, sothat the stamp- In the drawings, A represents a base or support];representingan angular gageforapile of postage-stamps, (indicated by m)and adjacent this gage and stamp pile is a shallowupwardlyopeningreceptacle B, in which is provided a fined in itsletter-gaging position by the head of the binding-screw g, the threadedshank of which passes through saidislot and with a screw-threadengagement downwardly into said base.

G represents a handle-lever which is both swivel-connected andpivotally-jointed rela-' tively to a rearward portion of the base, soasto have horizontal swinging movements about a vertical axis and alsoup-and down swinging movements from a horizontal axis, and, as shown,this joint for the stated movements is constituted by a post or stud h,having its shank or lower portion fitted into a socket therefor'in abushing 71, which screw engages into the base A, and to the upperextremity of said stud or post 71 a lever gis connected by a horizontalpivot j. The said leve'r g carries properly forwardly distant from itsswiveling and pivotal connection a depending head or block E, which isapertured from the bottom up- Wardly therethrough, and in communicationwith this aperture, which may be by the bushing-tube is, is the chamberof a collapsible bulb or other form of pneumatic M, which is car-1' riedby the handle-lever G, we representing a sheet-metal bulb-guard alfixedon the upper edge of the handle-lever and curving upwardly -at oppositesides of the bulb for preventing side of the head. The lever is nowswung to I the intermediate position (represented by the dotted line 3and depressed to carry the under gummed side of the stamp onto themoistened pad, and the lever is further swung sidewise to thedotted-line position .2 and depressed to carry the moistened stampagainst the letter. After the downward pressure has been exerted throughthe lever to aflix the stamp to the letter and in order that there maybe no tendency to strip the yet moistened stamp from the letter a slightpressure is given on the bulb to terminate the suction action, so thatthe return motion of the lever for a repetition of the describedoperation is permissible with no tendency to loosen the stamp from theletter.

The side of the receptacle B for the moistening-pad constitutes in somemeasure a gage for the letter to be stamped, and in some cases the gageD might be considered unnecessary.

It is of course manifest that the described device, while primarilydesigned for stamping letters, is susceptible of use for the rapidaflixing of labels or any kind of stickers on various articles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a device for moistening and aflixing stamps or the like, a base orsupport for a pile of stamps, and a moistening-pad on said base, a leverhaving a swivel engagement with the base, for a horizontal swingingmovement relatively thereto, and also jointed for vertically swingingmotions, a dependent head carried by said lever and havingadownwardlyopening aperture therein, and a collapsible pneumatic carriedby said lever and having the chamber therein in communication with saiddownwardly-opening aperture.

2. In a device for moistening and aflixing stamps or the like, a base orsupport for a pile of stamps, an angular stamp-positioning gage, and amoistening-pad on said base, a lever, having a swivel engagement withthe base for horizontal swinging movements relatively thereto, and alsojointed forvertically-swing ing motions, a dependent head carried bysaid lever having a downwardly-opening aperture therein, and acollapsible pneumatic carried by said lever and having the chambertherein in communication with said downwardly-opening aperture.

3. In a device for moistening and ailixing stamps or the like, a base orsupport fora pile of stamps, a moistening-pad, and a letter-positioninggage on said base, a lever having a swivel engagement with the base, forhorizontal swinging movements relatively thereto, and also jointed forvertically-swinging motions, a dependent head carried by said leverhaving a downwardly-opening aperture therein, and a collapsiblepneumatic carried by said lever and having the chamber therein incommunication with said downwardlyopening aperture.

4:. In a device for moistening and afiixing stamps or the like, a baseor support for a pile of stamps, a moistening-pad, a stamp-positioningangular gage, and a letter-positioning gage on said base, a lever havinga swivel engagement with the base, for horizontal swinging movementsrelatively thereto, and also jointed for vertically-swinging motions, adependent head carried by said lever having a downwardly-openingaperture therein, and a collapsible pneumatic bulb carried by said leverand having the chamber therein in communication with saiddownwardly-opening aperture, and the bulb-guard provided on said leverand extending adjacent the opposite sides of said bulb.

Signed by me in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LUTHER E. SMITH.

Witnesses:

CLIFTON L. MoKNIeHT, RODERICK J. RUSSELL.

